The Guild of Light
by beefgir
Summary: This is the story of Kairi's parents.  Who where they, and what happened to them to make them leave Kairi in hollow bastion? This is the story of there lives. Finished.
1. Chapter 1

The guild of light

chapter 1

Taking a deep breath Alerna gazed out over the lake before her. It was the middle of July and the weather was warm and beautiful. She sat on top of a grassy hill overlooking the lake that her family lived next to. Next to that was a thick forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. The edge of it ran rite in front of there house.

A chipmunk scurried its way over to her. It stopped and looked around for any sign of a threat. When it was sure there was none it scurried over to Alernas hand. She was holding a peace of bread out for the chipmunk. Every day she came up to the hill to feed the chipmunks. It was a habit of hers ever since she was a little girl. She still was one, but she had just had a birthday so she felt much older. She was now 9 and that meant that she was now old enough to carry a weapon.

The land that she lived in was a dangerous place. It was often full of cut throats and bandits. So it was very coming for people to wear a sword at there belts. But children where not aloud to carry weapons for fear that they would hurt themselves or others. When a child became 9 they where aloud to carry a sword just like everyone else. Because of this her father had given her a very special birthday present. It was her very own sword. It was about a foot and a half long and razor sharp. The hilt was wrapped in copper wire and across the base of the blade was carved "Alerna" in neat cursive.

Alerna had been so happy that she threw her arms around her father and hugged him tight. She then begged him to teach her how to use it. Her father had laughed and pried her arms from around his waist. He told her that he would begin teaching her first thing the next morning.

The next day had come and gone, and she was taught all sorts of tricks. Her father taught her all day. She was a fast learner. Every trick he taught her, she would be able to do effortlessly with in an hour.

They had trained for a week so far. Today was her day off from training. Her father had work that he needed to do. His name was Mathius. He was a blacksmith and he got orders every day for armor, weapons, and all kinds of equipment. He had been putting those orders off to teach her how to use her sword, but today he could not wait any longer. So today Alerna had a free day wile her father worked.

Her mother was a beautiful woman with the same deep red colored hair as her. her eyes where the same too. They where the clearest shade of deep blue. She was a tall woman, almost taller than her father. Alerna always imagined she would look just like her mother when she grew up.

The chipmunk scampered off with the remains of the peace of bread in its mouth. Alerna watched it go and smiled. Chipmunks where so cute. With a sigh she leaned against a rock and looked out at the lake. Suddenly something slapped her on the top of the head. She jumped up alert for any attack.

"Gotcha!" Someone yelled as they ran back towards the house.

"JAX!!!" She yelled rite before chasing after her little brother. Jax was only 7. He was a terrible trouble maker. There was never a problem around the house that Jax was not responsible for in some way.

Jax got back to the house before she did. He ran in the back door and slammed it behind him. "Don't slam the door!" their mother yelled from the basement. Alerna flung the door open and charged in after him. She slid to a stop on the kitchen floor and looked around for him. He was no where to be seen. Then she heard him running up the stares. She grinned to herself as she charged after him. This was not the first time he had done this. She knew exactly where he was going.

She ran up the stares taking them two at a time. When she got to the top she ran down the hall to the last bedroom. She flung open the door and dropped to her hands and knees. Jax was hiding under the bed.

"Don't hurt me!" he cried holding onto his pillow.

"But you where the one that hit me!" Alerna said angrily. She reached for him but before she could grab him she froze. Both there eyes grew wide as they heard something form outside. The sound of steal against steal. At the same time they both scrambled out from under the bed and ran to the window.

Just as they reached the window, they both jumped back. Something small and black jumped up onto the window sill from outside. It had big yellow eyes and little black antenna.

Outside the sky suddenly grew dark. Thick clouds rolled in from out of nowhere casting everything in shadow. The little creatures eyes flashed then it sprang at them. "Get down!" Alerna yelled. She drew her new sword and at the same time spun and kicked her brother in the chest. He fell to the floor and slid out the door.

The thing landed on her back and knocked her to the ground. She landed hard and dropped her sword which skittered across the floor until it hit the far wall. Sharp little claws slashed at her back. She cried out with pain as she felt warm blood began running down her back.

Rolling over she knocked the think off of her. Scrambling to her feet she grabbed her sword. She spun to face the creature only to find it wasn't there. Looking around frantically she finally saw it on the ceiling. It jumped towards her. She quickly sidestepped and cut the thing in half in mid air. The creature exploded in a cloud of black vapor.

Alerna fell to her knees gasping. Her back hurt really badly. The cuts felt deep. Lightning flashed outside making her remember what she had been looking for. She got to her feet and ran to the window. Her father was outside battling something dark. It was completely black, but it had a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. The thing flowed from movement to movement like water. It looked so effortless. But by the way her father was knocked back every time he blocked an attack, she guessed it was anything but easy.

"I'M COMING DAD!" Alerna called from the window. Her father seemed to freeze when he heard her. Then he whirled around to look at the window.

"NO! ALERNA! TAKE YOUR MOM AND BROTHER AND GET OUT OF HERE!" he yelled at her. He blocked another attack from the thing. Alerna looked back at him for a second and then nodded. Turning she ran to the door. She was amazed at all the blood on the floor. She wondered whose it could be.

She got to the door and flung it open. Her brother was pressed up against the far wall looking terrified. Alerna ran to him and grabbed his hand. "Come on. We have to go." She said as she started to pull him. He reluctantly stood up and fallowed her.

Alerna raced down the stares looking for her mother. She met her in the hall at the bottom of the stares. Her mother had just been about to come up looking for them. "We have to get out of here." Her mother said grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

They ran out the front door into the pouring rain, there mother pulling them along. "MOM!" Alerna cried out as she stumbled.

"What is it?" her mother said not stopping for even a second. Without warning a black form fell out of the trees and landed on the path in front of them. There mother froze in mid step. Alerna spun around her mother and wiped out her sword. In the same movement she brought the sword slashing down towards the thing. She sliced it clean in half. The thing seemed to melt with the rain.

"Come on!" Alerna said holding out her arm. "I know where to go!" Her mother looked hesitantly at her, but then took her hand.

They ran through the forest down a little beaten path. The path fallowed a rock wall that ran just to there right. Making sure not to trip on any ruts Alerna ran to a dark opening in the rock wall. It was a cave she played in a lot with her brother. No one else knew about it because the entrance was mostly blocked by trees.

Stopping in front of the opening she pushed aside some branches to reveal the entrance to the cave. "Come on." She whispered. "Get in before they find us." But before any of them could take a step inside a form rose up out of the ground behind them.

Alerna whirled around to see a gigantic black form looming over them. It had long tactical like arms with claws at the end of each. It seemed to have long hair that wiped around its head as though caught in a fierce wind. Its body looked inhuman. It was misshapen and grotesque with an arm coming out of the middle of its chest. Deep with in the twisting mess of hair Alerna could see 2 glowing red eyes that stared directly at her.

Alerna held out her sword ready to defend her family. One of the things arms shot towards her. Acting fast she stepped to the side and tried to slice the arm in half. As she made contact with the creatures arm she felt her sword rip out of her hand, and her right wrist snap as though it was nothing more than a twig. The claw shot past her as she cried out and held her shattered wrist to her chest. Her hand now hanging at an unnatural angle.

Suddenly gasping she spun around. Her family had gotten out of the way of the claw as it shot past. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the claw continue past them and smash into a tree. The thick tree trunk that was hit was blasted into tiny splinters.

"No!" Alerna thought to herself. "What am I going to do? I can't fight this thing. Its way to strong. But I have to protect my family." Her mind raced frantically. The giant form loomed over them blocking out the sky and the rain. It seemed to be studying them. Then slowly it began to lean forward. Alernas mother held Jax to her leg as she slowly backed away from the creature. Alerna just stared at the thing with a blank expression on her face. There was nothing she could do. Rain ran down her face as she stared up at the creature. It leaned farther and farther forward until it began to fall.

"ALERNA GET OUT OF THERE!!!" her mother yelled.

Alerna snapped out of her trance just as the creature collapsed on top of her with an earthshaking crash.

…

….

…..

Everything was black. Alerna slowly opened her eyes only to find that there was nothing to see. She hovered in an empty void. Everything around her was black. In the darkness she felt around. She did not feel anything to stand on. She was just floating in mid air. She ran her hands over her body then up. She felt the hilt of her sword in its sheath, then she felt her face. She ran her fingers over her eyes to be sure they where still there.

Gasping she felt her wrist. It was healed. The bone was no longer broken. She could use her hand again. But instead of making her happy this worried her. Where was she that this was possible. Was she dead?

She shut her eyes as tight as she could hope it would do some good. When she opened them again something was different. There was a faint glow around her. It came from below her. Twisting her body she looked down. She gasped again as she saw an amazing circular stain glass window. Across the glass where pictures of her, and her family. She stared at it in amazement. It was so beautiful.

Slowly she felt herself being lowered towards the window. Ever so gently she came to a stop just above the ground. Looking around for any sign of danger she lowered a foot hesitantly to the ground. As soon as her foot touched, the force that was holding her up vanished. She fell to the ground in a crumpled mess. Quickly getting to her feet she looked around her again. There was nothing here. She ran to the edge of the platform and looked down. The building she was on faded into blackness.

Alerna slowly turned and looked around again. She walked to the center of the floor and looked up.

"The perfect time. For a second chance"

Alerna spun around wildly looking for the source of the voice. She saw nothing else on the platform. The voice echoed around once again, but she did not hear it. It was inside her head.

"Don't be afraid. You are safe. For now…"

Suddenly there was a loud crack. A fracture ran through the center of the glass floor all the way to the other side. Another crack sprang off that one, and then another. Alerna backed away slowly as more and more cracks appeared on the surface of the glass floor. Alernas foot reached the edge of the platform. There was nowhere else to go. She looked back to the center of the floor as it exploded. Tiny fragments of glass shot in all directions as the whole floor collapsed in on itself taking Alerna with it.

Large fragments of glass fell at the same speed as she did down into the blackness. There was nothing she could do. She just fell, all the wile trusting that the voice said she was safe.

Far below Alerna saw another stain glass window. It was bright blue and pink. It showed two figures arm in arm looking down at a point below them. Alerna looked closely at it. It was a man and a woman. The woman had long red hair just like hers, and the man had spiky gray hair. Above them intertwined in blue and pink was the shape of a heart. Alerna looked again at the people as she came closer and closer to the tower. Her eyes grew wide as she realized. The woman was her.

She felt herself slowing. Her body did a slow summersault in the air and she came to rest gently on her feet.

"You hold great power with in you. The power to change the future. Trust in it. Give it form."

Alerna looked around for the voice again. She knew it was in her head, but what was causing it? There was a flash and in front of her hovered her sword. Her hand immediately flew to her waste only to find her sword still there. She pulled it out slowly and her heart fell. The blade was broken half way down its length. Broken by the monster. In front of her hovered a new blade. The same as her old one, but with a full blade. She slowly reached out to take it, but the voice stopped her.

"Know this. Things are not always how they appear. Though something seems good, it may harm more than help. Be sure in your resolve before you cast off the past."

Alerna hesitated and looked at the sword in front of her again. It looked the same as her old one, but something was different. The handle was wrapped with wire the same as hers, but it looked perfect. Her father had made her sword by hand. The wire around her handle was good, but uneven at parts. Also along the hilt was a scratch that her father had done accidentally when they where sparing one day. He had sliced her arm, and her mother had yelled at him for an hour wile she bandaged her up. The sword in front of her had no scratch.

She looked back down at the sword in her hand. Then she replaced it in its sheath.

"You have chosen wisely"

Suddenly the sword in front of her turned black. The blackness spread out from the sword. It expanded rapidly until it reached and enveloped her before she could do anything.

Alerna opened her eyes to find herself on another platform. This one was a picture of herself again. She was older now. She looked like she was in pain as she looked off to the side. In the opposite direction from where she was looking, her arms where held open. A baby wrapped in cloth was falling from her arms.

Alerna did not like the picture. She looked at the baby falling from her arms but she could not make out anything.

"The future is a twisted path. You have the ability to start, and end it. But first you must face the present."

A huge shadow suddenly rose up from beyond the towers edge. It was so large that it towered over the stain glass platform. The figure was black, but it was lit by the stain glass floor. Alerna gasped as she saw the figure. It was her father. He stood over her glaring down. He wore no shirt so the muscles in his chest stood out clearly.

"You must defeat the present to move on to the future."

"What!?" Alerna said in horror. She drew the broken sword and looked at it, then she looked up at the figure of her father. He glared down at her. Suddenly the sword glowed white. The blade shot forward and extended. The handle widened and circled around her hand. When the light banished she was holding a new weapon. It looked like the blade of a scythe turned to be used as a sword. The blade came out of the hilt and arched upwards. At the end on the back of the blade, three tiny blades stuck out so it looked like a very menacing and misshapen key. It was a pail blue color, and from the end of it dangled a keychain in the shape of a tiny sword.

"Use the weapon to defend yourself."

Alerna looked at the weird sword, then she looked up at the figure of her father. He began raising his huge arm. Alerna just looked at him. She began trembling.

"I can't fight him. I can't kill my dad…" she said.

"You must or you will be finished."

Tears began running down her face as she watched the figure raise it arm higher ready to smash her. "I cant… he's my father… I can't fight to kill him."

"You have to. Use the sword. Defend yourself." The voice was starting to sound frantic.

Alerna was shaking violently now as the thought shot around in her head. What was she going to do. She would not hurt anything that looked like her father. She could not. Slowly her body stopped shaking. She began crying harder as she held up the new sword, and then flung it off the edge of the platform as hard as she could. Then she looked up into her fathers eyes as he began to bring his fist down. Alerna fell to her knees just as the fist smashed through the platform.

She was falling again. Glass shards sparkled around her. Below she saw another platform. This one had a picture of a girl with red hair. She was smiling happily with a brown haired boy on her right, and a tall gray haired boy on her left. Alerna had no idea who any of the children where. But just the sight of them made her smile. She wiped the tears from her face as she fell towards the platform.

When she was standing on it the voice started up again.

"You have made a wise choice and have set your course for the future. You value family over your own life. That is a quality few poses. You have earned the rite to carry this keyblade." The weird sword that she had thrown away appeared in her hand again. "Its name is Family Ties. Use it well through out your life. Though it will be short, you will achieve everything you desire. Live it well."

Then the lights went out. Alerna felt the ground shaking. She was back with her mother and brother and the huge black creature falling towards her. Acting instinctively she brought the keyblade up in front of her. Light suddenly flashed all around her. No… not light... Lightning. She looked up again and saw the huge black form falling towards her. She brought up her sword ready for the thing to fall. Finally it did. It fell off its balance and plummeted towards her. Alerna was ready, she swung her sword around and sliced through the thing as it fell onto of her. As her sword ripped through the things body, everything behind where she cut turned to vapor. Before the thing could hit the ground it had turned to dust that rained down on top of her.

Alerna spun around looking for her mom and brother. They where standing a short ways away, staring at her. Her mother was looking terrified at the site of the weapon in Alerna's hands.

"Come on." Her mother said holding out a hand to her.

"But we have to-" Alerna started to say.

"That doesn't matter any more. Let's get back to the house. Protect us. I know you can."

As they walked back, her mother kept an arm around her shoulder. It was like she knew something was wrong with the sword. It was like it meant something very bad to her. Alerna could feel an impending since of dread approaching.

The clouds overhead where still dark. A thick fog now covered everything after the rain passed. It made everything hot and sticky. Alerna kept expecting something to cone out of the fog and attack them, but nothing did.

They got back to the house without any incident. There father was around back. Leaning against the side of the house. There was a long bloody gash running across the front of his chest down to his hip.

"Mathius!" her mother cried running to his side. He looked up when she cried out. She took one look at him the backed away. "il go get the medical kit!" her mother said turning.

"no!" her father called out. She froze in her tracks. Turning back she saw that his eyes had fallen on the new sword Alerna held. The color quickly drained from his face. He tried to get up but only slumped lower against the wall. Alerna quickly ran to his side. as she leaned over he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down to eye level. He looked her strait in the eyes. His face seemed a mask of sorrow. He stared deep into her eyes, then pulled her into a tight embrace.

He said nothing as he hugged her. He just hugged her close. Then he let go of her and held her at arms length. "I'm so sorry sweetie." He said. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't taught you how to use a sword, this never would have happened. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" she said confused. "Do you mean this thing?" she held up the sword. Her father seemed to recoil a little from it.

"Yes, that is what I am sorry about." He sighed and closed his eyes. "That thing that you hold in your hand is called a keyblade. Our world has chosen you to be its guardian and protector."

Alerna stared at him dumbfounded. The fog swirled slowly around them.

"Because you are now the protector chosen by this world, you will have to go far away from here."

"What? But why?!?" Alerna cried. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay with her family. She cared about them more than she did her own life. There was no way she was going to leave them.

"You have no choice. You have to go. You are going to go to the guild of light. They will train you there on how to use your keyblade. Then once your training is complete you will go on missions to different worlds to help people who need you."

Tears filled Alernas eyes. They filled her father's eyes also. "w- When… when do I have to go?" she stammered trying not to cry.

Her father sighed. "I don't know. But we can be sure that it will be soon." He looked back at her. "I'm so sorry baby."

Alerna could not hold the tears back any more. She broke down and threw herself into her father's arms. He held her as she cried.

That night nobody slept. Everyone stayed up with Alerna. They all wanted to be close to her because they knew that soon she would be gone forever. She was glad that they where all there. That her last moments would be spent with all of them.

She sat in-between her parents, both of them holding on to her waiting for something to happen. No one knew what it would be, just that something would come. A few hours before dawn it did. There was a nock at the door. Alerna felt both her parents stiffen next to her. They exchanged a dreaded look, then her father got up to answer the door.

A woman stood on the front steps. Her face illumined by a torch she held in her left hand. She had long blond hair that hung over the shoulders of her white robe. The woman looked Alernas father up and down, then she said in a gentle voice "are you the father of Alerna Phillida?"

"Yes" he said in a tone that sounded like his very life was being drained away. "Are you from the guild?" he asked.

The woman studied the look in his eyes and then sighed. "I'm afraid I am. I'm sorry."

"Don't be" her father said. She did not think he could sound any more depressed that he already was. "Come on in." he held the door open for the woman. She nodded and stepped inside.

The woman's eyes fell on Alerna the instant she entered the house. "You must be Alerna" the woman said with a hint of a smile. "I'm here to take you to the guild of light. Are you ready to go?"

Alerna looked at each member of her family in turn. She wanted to ask the woman is she would ever see them again, but she was afraid of the answer. So instead of asking anything she walked over to her father and hugged him. Then she hugged her mother and then her brother. She wanted to cry, but she found she couldn't. She could not do anything.

Then the woman put a hand on her shoulder and gently led her out of her house for the last time.

Alerna now sat in a chair on a space ship. The woman had a ship waiting for them. Inside where 5 other kids. They where all boys. 4 of them looked to be 14 of 15 years old, but the last boy looked to be the same age as her. All the other boys looked excited and happy to be going somewhere new. But the younger boy looked the same way that Alerna felt. Depressed. Like her entire life was being taken away peace by peace.

The boy had short gray hair and dark brown eyes. He stared at the floor, not looking up when Alerna stepped into the ship. Alerna looked at all the other boys who where talking and laughing. The sight of them made her feel sick. She could not feel happy even if she wanted to.

Slowly she walked over to the gray haired boy and sat down next to him. He looked up angrily as though to tell her off for sitting anywhere near him, but he stopped dead when he saw her. His expression of rage slowly slid of his face to be replaced by surprise.

Alerna wiped her eyes and looked at the boy. "Hi. I'm Alerna." She said quietly.

"I'm Serif" the boy said still surprised. "Did you just get here?" he asked. Alerna nodded wiping her eyes again.

"I just lost my whole family." She whispered looking at the ground.

"Yeah… so did I" Serif whispered also looking down. After that they said nothing more. They just sat together in silence, sharing the same pain. The same grief.

Even though they had just met, they became fast friends. When they arrived at the guild later that day, they where put in rooms according to age group. Because they where the same age, they where put in the same room together. Neither of them had a problem with this. They both wanted company. They both felt the same way, and as though through a mutual understanding they both comforted each other.

The guild did not bother them the rest of the day. They stayed in there room together. Both of them crying at different points over there lost families. It was very painful. Eventually they both cried themselves to sleep. They lay on the floor of the room, holding each others hands.

The next morning Alerna was woken up by what appeared to be a mouse. He had big black ears and a tail. He wore a white robe and a kind smile on his face. In his arms he carried a rolled up bundle of something. Alerna stared at him astonished. She had never seen another creature act like a human.

"Is there something on my shirt?" the mouse asked looking down at himself.

"Uuhhh… no." Alerna said giving herself a mental shake.

"Good. Then get yourself up. Its time for breakfast." The mouse said happily. "My name is Mickey, and I will be looking after you today."

Alerna nodded dumbly still not sure what to make of the situation. "You will need to get dressed first" Mickey said. "Here are your new cloths." He held out the bundle to her. Taking it Alerna unrolled it to find two identical white robes the same as Mickey's.

"Get dressed. I will be waiting outside when you are ready." Mickey smiled then turned and walked out of the room closing the door. Alerna looked around for some place to change. She spotted a door across the room that she had not seen before. When she opened it she found a bright white bathroom. She stared at all the shiny spotless marble along the floor and sealing.

Suddenly her stomach growled pulling her out of her trance. She quickly pulled off her cloths and pulled on the white robe. It fit perfectly. The top half had long sleeves that where just the rite length. It hugged her body perfectly almost like a second skin.

The pants did not hug her legs the same way the shirt did. They where a bit looser giving her more room to move around. There was even a pair of shoes that where the perfect size for her. She looked at herself in the mirror. It was the first time she had seen her reflection in a few days. She looked like a mess. Her hair was tangled and her face looked filthy. She looked around for a brush of some kind, but there was none around. So she went to the sink and dunked her head under the facet.

When she had cleaned herself up as best she could she opened the bathroom door. Serif was still sleeping on the floor. Alerna walked over to him and poked him. He stirred but did not get up. He waved his arm and rolled over in the other direction. Alerna poked him again, this time a little harder. He jumped and sat up.

"What? What is it?" he said groggily.

"Its time to get up. Time for breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Serif said waking up instantly.

"Yeah, but first you need to get dressed. Here are your new cloths. The bathroom is over there." she pointed back the way she had come. Serif looked at her confused then started pulling off his shirt.

"No not-" she started to say, but he was already pulling off his pants. "eeewwww!" She cried as she ran for the door to the room.

"hay! Wait for me!" Serif called after her. Alerna played no attention as she ran outside and slammed the door behind her.

"is something wrong?" Mickey asked a little concerned

"he- I- ewww!" Alerna stammered finally shuddering and falling silent. Mickey smiled. He had an idea what had happened.

No more than 30 seconds later Serif was standing in the doorway ready to go. His shirt was on backwards, and the left side was ticked into his pants. He looked incredibly filthy next to the whiteness of his robes.

"where's breakfast?" he said slightly out of breath.

Mickey laughed at the site of him. "oh that's a good attitude to start the day. Fallow me." He said turning and walking down the hallway.

Alerna had never gotten a chance to look at the place they where in last night, but now that she did, the sights left her speechless. the walls floor and ceiling where all a spotless white. The ceiling was arched with designs all along it. everything looked to bright and alive. The white made it seem as though there where no shadows anywhere around. As though darkness was afraid to enter the bright halls of this place. But something was bothering Alerna. There was no light. Well, at least none that she could see. Everything around them was bright, but there was no source for the light to be coming from. She looked around amazed that she could not find even one place where the light could be coming from. As she looked her eyes fell on the people around her. some of them where in beautiful white robes. Others in suits of armor as though they where getting ready for battle.

It was a little wile before Alerna noticed all of them held a sword like the new one she had. They didn't look the same, but they all looked like a key in some way. Alerna stared at a bright gold one that a man held in his hand.

"come on." Serif hissed in her ear. She jumped, surprised out of her trance. She turned to see Serif pulling at her sleeve. Mickey was now a good distance downs the hall. He kept walking at a brisk pace as though he had no idea his charges where not with him. Alerna and Serif ran to catch up.

they turned a few more corners until the smell of food reached them. Serif perked up immediately. "I smell it!" he said excitedly. Then he took off running. "wait!" Alerna called before taking off after him. Mickey smiled to himself. It had been so long since they had children as young as them in the guild.

Serif slid to a stop in a grand hallway. The walls and floor where as white as the hallways. The ceiling arched far overhead with windows just below the ceiling. Everything seemed to glow. But Serif noticed none of this. He only had eyes for the food that was on the long tables. he ran to one of the tables and jumped into a seat. Alerna fallowed more slowly. She noticed all the strange looks they where getting from the other people eating breakfast. She sat down next to Serif that already had a plate piled high with food. Even though she was hungry, she ate slower than Serif did.

By the time they where finished, Serif was complaining that his stomach hurt. Alerna could not help but laugh at him. when they left the dining hall they met Mickey right away. he was standing in the doorway waiting for them.

"are you two full?" he asked cheerily. Alerna nodded happily. Serif just groaned as he held his stomach. "Good! Then it is time to start your training."

"training?" Alerna said. "What training?"

"why, it is the reason you are here. To learn how to master your keyblade. To become a skilled keyblade master so you can help defend the universe from darkness. We will train you in many different skills including magic and spells. As well as advanced sword fighting and defense. In the beginning I will be your teacher. But once you two master the basics then you will move up and learn with someone else."

Alerna just stared at the mouse, she had no idea what to do. Serif on the other hand just held his stomach and moaned again.

"come now. You two need to get dressed. Then your training will begin."


	2. Chapter 2

The Guild of Light

Chapter 2

As the years passed Alerna's skills grew. Every skill she was taught she would master in hours. She rose through the ranks of the guild so fast that she even lost track of her position. By the time she was 13 she was already going on missions to other worlds. She had completed her training and now served as a protector. But Serif was not so skilled. He was much slower and learning things. Even though Alerna tried to help him when ever she had time, and that was not very often, he did not pass through all the training until he was 16. By then Alerna was put in charge of groups that went on missions. She was the youngest member to ever reach that rank.

Alerna and Serifs friendship grew as they grew up. Serif slowly but surly, fell hopelessly in love with Alerna. But she never noticed it. She always stuck close to him like she would a brother. She never seemed to see Serif in a romantic way.

By the time they where both 20 they had both risen high in the ranks of the guild. Alerna was a skilled master of the keyblade. Because of this she was one of the highest ranking officers in the guild. But this is not what her story is about. Her real story began in the middle of May. Alerna was to lead a group of guild members to a distant world to deal with a very large heartless that was said to be tormenting that world.

Alerna was assigned the members that where to go with her. 6 knights stood at attention in the docking bay. Each of them was fully dressed in armor including helmets and keyblades. She looked each of them over. Then when she was satisfied she nodded to them and they all filed onto the waiting ship.

She sat in the back of the ship as the pilot flew them to there destination. She sighed and leaned back looking at her armor. There where scars and scratches all over the arms and chest from battles she had been in over the years. She liked them. They showed all the adventure she had been through in her life.

One of the guild members sat down next to her and pulled off his helmet. "Serif!?!" Alerna said surprised. Then she looked around to make sure no one had heard her. They had not. She leaned closer to him and hissed "what are you doing here. You know you aren't supposed to be on missions this advanced yet!"

"I am now" he grinned running his fingers through his hair. "I passed the test yesterday. I just never got a chance to tell you." He beamed happily.

Alerna smiled, proud that he had finally reached the level where he could be with her on missions. Even if he was ranked much lower than her, she was happy to have him along.

"So… what are we going to do?" he said looking around suspiciously. Alerna's smile slid off her face.

"You are supposed to check up on these things ahead of time so that you know if you can do them." Alerna whispered.

"Sorry! The only thing I really checked was to see if you where the commander. I didn't care about the rest." He grinned again.

Alerna rolled her eyes but was forced to smile. "Well we got a report that there was a dangerous heartless terrorizing this World. We are going to check it out, and if necessary, destroy it."

"Oh…" Serif said. He looked very hesitant all the sudden. "And when you say big… How big do you mean?"

Alerna looked at him suspiciously. "It could be anything from twice as big as you to as big as this ship. It all depends. The report was not very specific."

Serif sighed heavily. "Were all going to die." He said as he leaned back in his chair and fell silent. He said nothing for the rest of the trip.

When they arrived, Alerna was the first one out of the ship. She stood on the ramp to the ship and overlooked the land they had arrived in.

She was standing in the middle of dry grassland. The field of grass stretched as far as the eye could see. Under the grass was solid rock. A little ways off was a village. Alerna studied it suspiciously. There was no sign of life. But they had to start somewhere.

"Come on." She called back up the ramp. The 6 other members including Serif filed out after her. When they all stood on the firm ground the ramp retracted and the ship took off again.

"Ok, so where are we going?" Serif asked looking around at the sea of grass.

"Over there." Alerna pointed at the village. Serif nodded and they started off.

The sun was sinking lower in the sky as they marched through the thick grass. Every now and then they would come across some odd stones that looked like blocks of some kind buried half in the sand. Some of them where bigger and seemed to resemble part of a wall. A few places where actual ruins. They walked in and explored some of them but they where all empty.

When they finally got to the village they found exactly what they had been finding along the way. Nothing. The village was deserted. Alerna looked around becoming more and more concerned. There was no one here. Everything around them looked as though who ever had lived here and dropped everything in a hurry and left the village as fast as they could.

"Hello!" Alerna called. "Is anyone here?" There was no response apart from the echo from stone walls around them. She waited for several seconds, then shielded her eyes and looked up at the sun. "It's getting very late. Let's see if we can't find places to sleep in these houses." All of the soldiers nodded and walked in separate directions looking for a place for all of them to stay.

Alerna walked to her left and opened a door to a two story building. The door was unlocked. She stuck her head in and looked around. There was no one inside. She opened the door some more. It creaked as it opened. She walked inside and it closed itself behind her. Dust rose around her feet and a strange smell drifted to her across the still air. It was clear that no one had been there in a long time.

"ALERNA!"

"WHAT?!?" she yelled as she spun around.

"Oh there you are." Serif said. He had slammed the door open behind her. He looked frantic for a second. "I didn't know where you went. I got worried. Are you ok?"

Alerna had sunk to the floor gasping for air. Her heart was racing so fast that she could not stand. Sitting on the dusty floor she swallowed and tried to get a hold of herself.

Serif hurried to her side. "Are you ok?" he asked concerned. She hit him hard in the leg. "OWW!! What was that for!" he cried.

"Don't be such an idiot going around yelling for me!" She hit him again.

"ow ow ow! Ok, I get it, I'm sorry!"

Alerna huffed and got to her feet. "Now come on. You mite as well come with me." She turned and started heading up a flight of stares. Serif hobbled along after her.

In the upstairs the weird smell was stronger but they could not figure out why. There were 2 beds in one of the rooms, but that was not enough for all of them, and Alerna did not want to be separated during the night. She turned and walked back downstairs and out of the building.

"Where do you suppose everyone is?" Serif whispered.

"I don't know. It could be that what ever is said to be terrorizing this place scared away the villagers." She said as she walked next door and opened another door.

"But then what could have happened to the villagers. It doesn't look like they have anywhere else to go."

Alerna sighed as she studied the inside of the house. "I don't know. It could be that they are dead somewhere." Not a second after she said that she found them. She opened a door to another room and found the owner of the house. He was sitting in a chair in the room Alerna had just opened. His skin was hanging off his face and his jaw hung at an awkward angle. The man was dead. He had been dead a long time.

Suddenly the smell of decaying flesh hit them like a wave. Alerna slammed the door as she reeled back from the smell. Serif caught her. "I think we found them" she said looking up into his brown eyes.

Serif hoisted her back on her feet. "Let's get out of here and see if anyone else found anything." he mumbled turning away. Alerna fallowed him out and across the street to another building. He opened the door and stepped inside.

They walked through the house not really looking at anything until Alerna gasped. "What's wrong?" Serif asked as he turned to face her.

"It's a baby" She whispered as she ran her fingers along the edge of a baby's cradle.

Serif watched her silently as she stood over the crib looking down at the dead baby. She took a deep shuddering breath. Serif slowly walked up next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

Alerna held back tears in her eyes. She had to show a good example for her squad. She leaned heavily on Serif still holding back tears and trying to remain in control of her emotions. They were nearly getting the best of her. Serif just hugged her. He didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. There was nothing to say. He just looked over her shoulder at the baby lying in the crib. It would never breath again.

They left that house quickly. Alerna was still leaning on Serif as he held her close.

"Mistress Alerna!"

Alerna's head snapped up. "What is it?" she said. A soldier was standing 3 doors down.

"I found a place to stay the night." The soldier said. Alerna nodded at him.

"Good job. Lead the way." She said. As soon as the solder turned away, her strong persona collapsed. She slumped forward, as though she did not want to walk any more. Serif put an arm around her waist and led her forward.

The sun hung over the horizon. The sky was lit a deep purple. Serif studied the surrounding land past the houses. It was all flat except for the sea of grass that waved in the slight breeze.

Slowly Alerna put a hand to his chest. He let go of her and she stood up strait.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine." She said. "Come on. Let's go see this room."

The house was not even a house at all. There where no rooms. It looked like an orphanage with no rooms. Beds lined the walls. Along one wall was what looked like a kitchen. Alerna studied the place.

"It looks good. Nice work." The knight saluted. "Now go find the others. Tell them where to go. Serif, hurry and find something we can use for light."

Serif nodded and took a few steps forward. On a table to his left he spotted a candle. He swiped it up and turned. Alerna was looking at him. She was not smiling or anything, she was just watching him. When she realized what she was doing she jumped. "You got a candle? Good." She stepped close to him and pointed a finger at the candle. A little spark jumped from the tip of her finger. The candle caught and lit. The whole room lit up with dancing shadows all around them.

"Are you ok?" Serif asked again.

Alerna studied his face then sighed. "No. I'm not. Not really. It's that baby. It's so sad how something so small could never have a chance at life. To have it so easily taken at such a young age. It's depressing." Tears nearly filled her eyes again and she tried to hide it. She looked down so Serif could not see, but he didn't miss it.

"That's not all that's bothering you. I know." Serif whispered.

"Your right. Its not. That baby got me thinking... What is the point of what I'm doing? I mean, I know what I'm doing and why, but what does it mean for me? Am I going to keep doing this all my life until I die in a battle some day. It makes me think of what might happen in my future. I … I want to have a family some day. If I keep living this life that will never happen." She sighed and looked into his eyes. "I want to find that special guy and I want to stop all this fighting. I want to settle down and have a baby some day, but I can't see that ever happening for me. It's just that… that baby made me think of what my future might hold."

Serif studied her face for a moment, then he put down the candle and hugged her. They held each other for several minutes until her soldiers started walking in the door. Startled Alerna pulled away.

"Good, you are all here." She said counting all the members. "We will stay here tonight. Pick a bed and settle down. I will take the first watch. Then you will take second" she said pointing at another soldier.

They all nodded and walked off to pick a bed. Serif picked a bed and lay down. He didn't want to sleep, he wanted to talk to Alerna. He had not had time in so long to actually sit down and talk to her. They had always been busy with some task. Alerna had been much busier than him so they hardly ever saw each other.

Alerna stayed watch for 2 hours. When she was finally too tired to do anything she went and woke the knight who was supposed to take second watch. She then stood and looked at the other beds. There where a lot that where empty but she only glanced at them for a second before moving on. Finally she found what she was looking for. Serif lay in one of the beds closest to the watch. She stood over him for several minutes just watching him sleep.

She needed to get some sleep, but she wanted to be near Serif more. He made her feel safer. She remembered all the years she had spent with him. She had known him for 11 years and it was not until just now that she was starting to think of him different from the friend she always had.

Slowly she leaned down and placed a hand on his shoulder. Serifs eyes flew open. He shot up grabbing her wrist in one hand and twisting it around her back so that her body arched backwards. With the other arm he wrapped that around her stomach to keep her from getting away.

Alerna shook with fear from the shock of the attack. She had no idea what was going on. She felt Serifs hot breath on the back of her neck. Not a sound had been made this whole time. The new watch sat still by the candle. Completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Alerna?" Serif said. He released her as quickly as he could. "I'm sorry. Are you ok?" Alerna slumped forward as soon as she was released. She turned to him rubbing her wrist. "I'm so sorry." He said again as he got out of bed. He pulled her into a gentle hug.

Sighing Alerna hugged him back. "Its ok, I'm fine. I'm sorry I startled you." She let go and stepped back. She looked into his brown eyes in the flickering candle light. "Serif… I need to talk to you" she whispered.

Serif saw the look in her eyes. The concerned serious look that he only ever saw on rare occasions when she was dead set on something she thought she might regret. "Yeah, sure." He whispered nodding. Alerna looked around for some place to go. Her eyes fell on a bed at the end of the rows as far away from everyone else as possible. The beds back there where completely in shadow. Taking his hand she led him to them.

The bed was pushed up against the far wall so they could sit up strait and talk. They sat down and Alerna looked into his eyes. Or she thought she was. It was so dark all she could see was a form next to her.

"Serif…" she began quietly. Then she sighed and continued. "I'm worried. I already told you what I was worried about. But there is something more to it that I need to tell someone. I'm worried that I will never have a family, and that I will never stop this stupid fighting. I'm worried that I will never get to experience the simple things that life has to offer." She fell into silence not sure where she was going with this.

"Like what?" Serif whispered as he leaned closer to her. Alerna took a shuddering breath. Then she crawled closer to him and leaned her back against his chest. He wrapped his strong arms around her. She felt a warm tingle spread through out her body. She felt so much safer now.

She sighed again and continued. "I'm worried that… that I wont ever find anyone to love. Someone to give my full heart to. I'm worried that I will never feel true love in my life."

"Don't say that" Serif whispered in her ear.

"No, I'm serious. I know this life that I have will not last forever. I know I am going to die young. There is no way I will die of old age doing what I do."

"Stop it!" Serif said with more authority. He squeezed her a little tighter. Alerna turned her head to look up at him. Serif squeezed her closer to his body. "I know we don't lead the safest lives, and I know our future does not look good. I have always known it. But ill tell you what you have to do. You need to live every day like it is your last. Don't ever be hesitant about anything you do."

"Serif…" Alerna whispered sounding amazed.

"No, I'm not done." He said without stopping to give her a chance to speak. "Don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself. What if your next mission was your last? If it is then you will never have done any of the things you said. I don't ever want to hear you feeling sorry for yourself. You are an amazing woman who can do anything you want. So listen to me. When you get back after this mission, you find a guy that you are interested in, and you give him your heart. Even if he shoots you down, don't stop. I want you to find someone you love and live every day like it is your last. Do everything you want to do in your life and then never regret a moment of it." He finally finished and fell silent. Alerna just lay in his arms. Tears ran down her face.

"What about you?" she whispered after several minutes.

Serif was silent for a long moment. "I already do." he whispered. He squeezed her a little tighter. Alerna looked up at him. She could not make out his face or the expression on it. She thought over his words carefully. She knew that everything he had said was true. He was right about so many things. But to do those things was a completely different story.

Slowly she brought her hand up and touched his cheek. He looked down at her. She put her palm to his cheek and slowly pulled his head down to her. Her neck was bent back as she looked up to his face. There faces where centimeters away. Alerna's breath was shaking, then she whispered "I'll give it a try" then she pulled him a little closer and there lips met.

The rest of the night Alerna slept, curled up in Serifs arms.

The whole room lurched and seemed to drop several yards. The sound of grinding stone filled the room. Those who had not woken when the room dropped where now roused by the noise. Alerna crawled out of Serifs arms and jumped to her feet. "Is everyone ok?" she yelled looking around for the source of the noise. The room continued to shake as crashes came from outside. A large chunk of the ceiling suddenly fell in. "Serif!" she hissed.

"What is it?" he said from just behind her. He was already on his feet.

"Good, you are up." she sighed. "Everyone outside now!"

As soon as they where outside it was apparent what had happened. A cliff seemed to have risen out of nowhere. It ran through the middle of the rode and rose about 20 feet in the air. Alerna studied the rock wall in front of them then she turned to the group. "We need to get to more open ground if we are to fight what ever it is that is doing this. Everyone, get around the back of the house!"

Everyone took off running around the building. Serif fallowed rite behind Alerna. Behind the building the flat empty expanse of land spread out before them. The sun was just about to rise. The sky was a golden orange and the waving grass lit up as it moved with the wind. Without warning the land in front of them dropped several yards leaving a gaping crater rite in front of them.

Alerna stood just before the hole and held up a fist. Everyone remained quiet. She listened for the slightest hint on something, but nothing came. Then everything started shaking. Cliffs and hills rose up out of the ground as far as they could see. The land was transformed in seconds from flat to a giant maze of cliffs. Then several yards past the crater the ground exploded. Something large shot out of the ground and landed a short ways away. The creature was black with bright red eyes. It was about 3 times the size of a human. It had long vicious claws and what looked like some type of gun mounted to its back. The creature snarled showing pointed fangs as long as a normal persons arm.

Each one of the knights summoned there own keyblade. "Everyone ready?" Alerna said over her shoulder.

"Ready!" they all said in unison.

"Then attack!" she called. Everyone shot forward over the crater to attack the creature. Alerna was first. She brought her scythe shaped keyblade swinging around at the creatures head. Then as though by magic the thing vanished. Her keyblade sliced through empty air. She landed and looked around for the creature. Where was it? Where was the rest of the group?

The thing suddenly shot out of the ground at Alerna's feet. She jumped backwards dong a flip as she landed several yards away. The thing was spinning at an incredible speed. 2 knights shot out of the spinning blur. The creature stopped spinning and looked around itself wildly. In its jaws hung a severed arm.

Alerna gasped then grit her teeth. "SOLDIERS!" she yelled.

"Aye!" came the response from 4 different directions. They seemed to have the creature surrounded.

"Everyone attack now!" she yelled. She launched herself at the creature again. Suddenly something hit her from the side sending her rolling across the ground. Something grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. What ever had her started running in the opposite direction. Alerna kicked out at the things legs. What ever it was yelled and crashed to the ground.

Jumping to her feet she turned to see Serif getting to his feet as well. "You idiot!" she yelled at him. "Get up! We need to help the others!" She then turned to run back to the fight. Serif grabbed her shoulder from behind, kicked her legs out from under her and then threw her as best he could into a cave in one of the rocks. He then ran as fast as he could to get to the cave. Just as he entered it Alerna punched him as hard as she could in the face.

Serif collapsed. The skin on his cheek was split from her metal gloves. He spit out a bunch of blood then got to his feet. Alerna took off back towards the fight. Serif tripped her as she passed. He jumped to his feet and grabbed both her arms. He swung her around and slammed her back into the wall of the cave. He griped her arms tightly as he forced her to stop struggling. "Alerna. Alerna! Listen to me!" he yelled shaking her. She only tried harder to get away from him.

"I have to! I have to kill that thing! I have to help the others!" she cried out. Tears where pouring down her face as she fought against him. Her whole body shook. "They need my help! I need to help them. Get out of my way now Serif. As your Superior officer I command you to release me!" she tried to twist away and raise her keyblade towards him. Above them a beam of light shot through the rock slicing a thin line through the cave wall. Debris fell all around them.

Serif griped her harder and slammed her back against the wall harder this time. "NO! I'm not letting you go! I don't care if you are my commanding officer or god himself! I'm not letting you go out there! Listen to me." She tried to twist away. Serif released her left arm and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes darted over his face. She was mad, no, furious. She would kill him if she could. A slab of rock fell next to them but Serif did not move. "Listen to me!" there faces where only a few inches away. "If you go out there, that thing will kill you. I won't let you go to your death!"

"You don't know what I'm capable of!" Alerna hissed through her clenched teeth. "You have no idea what I can do." she glared at him murderously. "Those soldiers need my help. Are you just going to leave them to die! You are a sick bastard! How dare you call yourself a member of the guild. You disgust me!" with that she tried to spit in his face, but he was holding her jaw so tight that she could not do anything. Another beam of light shot through the rock above them. Serif looked up then pulled Alerna away from the wall. A bolder fell rite where they had just been. Sensing her opportunity Alerna tried to get away. Serif grabbed her other arm again and slammed her against the bolder.

"LISTEN TO ME!" he yelled pressing her back hard against the rock. "They are all dead! All of them! They all died before they even had a chance to attack that thing a second time. I saw it happen. Before any of them even made contact that thing ripped each one of them to shreds. I rescued you! If I hadn't grabbed you when I did you would be dead to!"

"I DONT BELIEVE YOU!" she yelled trying to twist away again. Serif slammed her against the rock once more.

"You have to believe me!" he yelled over the trembling cavern. "They are all dead! I rescued you because I love you! I don't want anything to happen to you! Especially that thing! I don't want to lose you!"

A terrified look spread over his face. "I'm... I'm sorry" he said realizing what he had just said. "I... I didn't mean to tell you like this..."

Serif froze realizing something was different. Alerna was no longer struggling. She was looking at him. Her eyes wide. Almost horrified. "Serif..." she whispered. Serif suddenly released her as though she had burned him.

"No! I'm sorry! I didn't-" he fell to his knees. She just stared at him. Serif hung his head and his whole body began shivering. He had not meant to let it slip. He had not meant to tell her like this. Not here. Not like this. Then he felt something on the side of his face. A hand. A cold hand. He looked up into Alerna's face. She was bending down only inches from his face. They stared at each other for a second, then slowly Serif leaned forward. He closed his eyes and there lips met.

Alerna stared at him as he kissed her lips. The cavern shook around them as they kissed. Then everything became too much for Alerna and she fell to her knees. She had so much going on in her head that her brain just shut down. Everything in her head vanished, and she stopped breathing as she gave in to the panic attack. She fell into his arms and he held her close. Another beam of light shot through the wall above them and then the whole ceiling caved in. Serif threw himself over Alerna as rock fell on top of them and they where buried in stone.

Because of some quick spell work, Serif had set up a barrier around them just before the rocks crushed them. The barrier was now gone but they where stuck. The barrier had caused the rocks to form a dome over them about 4 feet tall and 8 feet long and wide. Serif whispered something over a rock and it began to glow, lighting the little space.

Alerna now stared up at the new rock ceiling unable to breath. Serif tore frantically at her metal chest plate trying to give her room to breath. He finally managed to rip it off, then he pulled out a knife and began slicing through the layer of thick leather on her chest. The leather was skin tight and made for a man. Her breasts where pressed flat against her chest which was also constricting her breathing. As soon as Serif sliced through the straps holding on the leather, Alerna's body convulsed as she began gasping for air. She then rolled over on her hands and knees as she was overtaken by a fit of coughing.

Serif rubbed her back as Alerna coughed. As soon as the coughing died down she began gasping again. she looked around wildly at the stones surrounding her. they where crushing her, cutting off her air, she could not breath! She tore at her shirt as though it was also blocking her from breathing. She pulled it over her head then fell to her hands and knees as she began coughing again.

Serif stared at her bare back. He could already see the bruises forming from when he had slammed her against the rock. Alerna began gagging. Serif was quickly at her side. He realized now what was going on. She was incredibly claustrophobic. She was psyching herself into thinking that the walls where closing in around her and preventing her from breathing. If she didn't stop gasping soon she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. Quickly he gathered her into his arms and began rocking her back and forth. "Shhhhhhhhh. Shhhhhhhhh. Calm down. It's ok. It's ok. Calm down." he whispered rocking her back and forth.

Alerna's breathing gradually grew slower. Her body still shook uncontrollably, but her breathing evened out. Finally she swallowed "where are we?" she said in a horse voice.

"Trapped in a cave." Serif whispered. Alerna's breathing picked up again. "Shhhh shhhh shhhh." Serif said rocking her again. "Its ok, we are safe for the moment." Her breathing slowly returned back to normal.

"What happened to the creature?" she whispered.

"I think it thinks we are dead. It shouldn't bother us for a while hopefully." Serif slowly rocked her back and forth. Silence filled the little cave as Alerna though over everything that had happened in such a short time.

"Are they really all dead?" she said in a barley audible whisper.

Serif nodded. He would not say the words incase it set her off again. Silence filled the room again.

"Where is my shirt?" she said realizing and covering her breasts.

"You threw it away." Serif said. He then reached over and picked it up. She took it and pulled it on over her head. She then lay back down in Serifs arms as he went back to rocking her.

A long silence passed as Alerna tried to ask the question she could not bring herself to do. Finally she said "did you really mean it?"

"Every word of it" Serif said with a smile. Alerna blushed and looked away. "I…" She fell silent as she tried to get the words out. "I… love you too." She whispered. Serif stopped rocking her. He looked into her eyes. She looked back at him. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

She had been dreaming of someone to give her heart to, someone who would share her life with her, she had been telling him everything for so long, but she had always been so blind to what was rite in front of her. She watched him lean down and kisses her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed. Slowly every confusing thought left her mind. Everything that was bothering her about anything slowly disappeared. The only thing that mattered was Serif. She held him closer to her as he lay her down on the ground. He lay next to her and they continued kissing.

Finally Alerna pulled away and looked into his eyes. "I'm so sorry that I never saw what was rite in front of me." She whispered to him.

"Its ok, we are together now." Serif whispered back. Alerna smiled so wide that her cheeks hurt. Serif smiled back and then began removing his armor. Alerna sat up and helped him remove everything before taking off her rest of her armor. When all of it was off Alerna pulled him down on top of her and kissed him again. She felt his skin against hers making her feel so alive. She wore that armor for so long that she had started to forget what it was like to feel things against her body. She hugged him closer as he kissed her neck.

He pulled away from her body and placed a hand on her breast. She winced and cried out in pain. Serif quickly pulled his hand back afraid he had done something wrong.

"No… its ok." She whispered. "They are just sore from the armor." She took his hand and placed it back over her breast. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers once again.

Trapped together in a cave on an alien world, the two of them made love for the first time.

They where rescued a day later. The pilot who had flown them in had seen everything that had happened. He sent word to the guild and they sent in a much larger teem to defeat the monster and save Alerna and Serif. In that time they had a lot of time to talk about what they would do with there lives together. They talked long and hard about where they would go and what would happen to them. But before they where rescued Serif asked one little question.

"Alerna… will you marry me?"

Alerna had fallen into his arms and kissed him as hard as she could. "Of course I will!"

Hearing those words Serifs face broke into a huge grin. He could barley convince himself that any of it was even real. The only thing he had cared about for so long was Alerna and now, after so long, they were finally together. His dream had come true.


	3. Chapter 3

The Guild of Light

Chapter 3

Alerna and Serif where both completely in love with each other. They knew that they would soon be married and then they would stop working for the guild. They had everything planed out. But until then Alerna never wanted to go on another mission without serif. She helped train him every minute she had. With in 2 years serif had advanced to a point where he could spar with Alerna and hold his own.

At the same time Alerna stopped trying to advance in the guilds ranks. If she was promoted one more time then she would be put in charge of long range missions. These where groups of knights who went out for years at a time to fight the darkness that spread across the universe.

Now that Alerna and serif where on the same level for fighting, they spared every night. They got to know each others fighting style perfectly. Each knew what the other was going to do before they even made a move. They worked perfectly together.

2 years passed as they honed there skills fighting heartless and each other. But when the time came for them to finally quit the guild, something happened that put there whole life on hold.

Serif sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yawning he rolled out of bed. He and Alerna had just gotten back from a mission the late last night. Not having any energy to do anything else they both collapsed into bed.

Serif smiled to himself as he turned to kiss Alerna only to realize she wasn't there. Where could she have gone? He briefly looked over the room. Not seeing her he checked the bathroom. She was not there either. Opening the door to the room he ran out into the main hall in nothing but his underwear. Two women who where walking past at that moment stared at him. Then they burst into laughter. Ignoring them he ran back inside and grabbed some pants. Pulling them on him ran back out into the hall. He looked both ways for her but didn't see her.

"Where could she have gone?" he thought to himself. "Maybe she got hurt yesterday… then she would have gone to the hospital." Coming to this conclusion he took off down the hall as fast as he could. Wearing nothing but a pair of pants, people stopped and stared at him as he ran.

Finally reaching the hospital he threw the door open not bothering to stop. Alerna jumped as the door rebounded off the wall behind it. Then seeing serif she jumped to her feet. "Serif! … What happened to you?" she asked staring at him. He was sweating and gasping for air. He had no shoes, no shirt, and his pants where on backwards. Alerna took his arm and tried to lead him to a couch but he would not move. Instead he spun her around and bent down so they where at the same eye level.

"Are you ok? What happened yesterday?" he said with a serious expression.

"What? Yesterday? Nothing." Alerna said looking at him confused. "I'm fine."

Serif's whole body relaxed. "Thank god." He said pulling her into a hug.

"Ewe. Serif, let go. You're all sweaty." Alerna said laughing as she pushed him away. Serif let go and Alerna led him to the couch. He collapsed into it and she sat down next to him.

They sat there for several moments as serif caught his breath. Finally he swallowed and said "so, why are you here if you weren't hurt." He turned to look at her but froze when he saw her face. "What? What is it?" She was smiling as wide as she possibly could. "What is it?!?" serif said a little more loudly. He was getting concerned again.

Alerna shook her hands excitedly. "Were going to have a baby!"

Serif just stared at her dumbfounded. "We-"he said his expression completely blank. "We're going to do what?"

Alerna was bubbling with so much excitement she was practically bouncing up and down on the seat. "I'm pregnant!" she said grabbing his arm and hugging it.

"What? Pregnant?" serif was only just starting to understand her. "Were… pregnant. Pregnant… PREGNANT!" He jumped up and picked up Alerna in his arms. He spun her around laughing. "Were going to have a baby!" he laughed as he stopped spinning and just held her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "We are going to have a baby." He laughed again. "I don't believe it. It's just what we wanted! Oh god we are going to have a family!"

Serif kissed her and then put her back on her feet. "How far along are you?" he asked.

"About 6 weeks." Alerna said happily.

"6 weeks! That long? Ok, well we have a lot that we need to do. We uh… we have to get married!" Alerna began bouncing up and down happily. "And we uh…. Well we have to get out of the guild naturally…and we have to tell Mickey!"

They continued talking as they walked out into the hallway arm in arm. Suddenly the bright white halls went red. People started running back and forth in all directions. Serif quickly let go of Alerna and grabbed a man as he ran past. "Hey, What's going on?"

"The king of hearts! He attacked another headquarters for the guild. The guild has just called an emergency mandatory meeting." the man said in a panic. Serif let go of the mans arm and he took off down the hall.

Serif and Alerna exchanged worried looks, and then they both began running. They arrived in the meeting hall just as the supreme general took his place at the front of the room.

Not seeing a place to sit, Alerna and serif stood along the back wall next to the door.

"Welcome to this emergency meeting of the guild of light!" the commander boomed. "As many of you know, one of our other headquarters has just been attacked and destroyed by the king of hearts! For those of you who are not privy to such information, the king of hearts is the leader of all darkness. He works together with the quean of hearts; they both have ultimate control over all the darkness in the universe. We have been trashing them for a long time, but it looks like they have finally decided to move. They have attacked, and destroyed another one of the guilds bases. This is a heavy blow to us. I am ordering a hold on all other missions until the business with the king of hearts is settled."

The general looked around at the hundreds of members gathered before him. "I don't need to tell you people how dangerous this is. We are facing the most powerful being in the known universe. I am going to need the help of everyone here if we are to save all the people in this universe." The general studied everyone once more, then he straitened up and yelled "dismissed!"

Everyone began failing out of the room, but Alerna and serif where the first to leave. "What are we going to do?" Alerna said hugging serifs arm.

Serif sighed heavily. "I don't know… I don't think there is anything we can do…" they where slant for several minutes as they walked down the hall. "Let's go find Mickey. Maybe he will know what to do."

They found Mickey teaching a group of beginning students. All of them 13 years old. Mickey just got done demonstrating for them the proper way to block a frontlet attack when he spotted Alerna and serif. Recognizing the horrified looks on there face him quickly dismissed the group.

"What's wrong fells?" he said rushing over to them. Serif covered Alerna's mouth before she could start telling him.

"Not here. Let's go to your office" he said looking around for anyone with in earshot.

Once they where safely behind closed doors Alerna began telling the whole story as quickly as she could. Mackie's face went from concerned to horrify in a mater of minutes. When Alerna finished Mickey was visibly sweating.

"This isn't good. This is not good at all. You both are in danger here. The guild is going to want both of you to help defend the guild and fight in the coming battles. Alerna, you can't fight now. And serif-"

"I'm not leaving her side for a second." Serif cut in.

"I know" Mickey said. "I was going to say that you would never leave her alone. You both need to get out of here to some place safe. Somewhere where the guild won't reach you very easily. Can you think of a place?"

Alerna and serif both lapsed into silence as they thought about places they had been in there lives. "My parents!" Alerna said happily. If there was a place I wanted to hide out, that would be the place. I would get to see my family again and everything!"

"That sounds like a great idea." Mickey said happily. Then it's set. You will both leave with in the hour. We need to move fast wile there is still confusion. Go pack as fast as you can and then meat me in the hanger."

"Wait, what you mean we leave?" serif said looking suspiciously at Mickey.

"I'm coming with you of cores. I'm not going to let two of my best friends disobey the guild and go out into dangerous places without protection." Mickey said smiling.

Serif rolled his eyes and he stood up. He helped Alerna up and then turned back to Mickey. "We will see you in the hanger as soon as possible."

They hurried through the halls as fast as possible. They did not waste any time. In there room they packed only what they needed. Some cloths and supplies. They also both put on there armor. In 20 minutes they where both in the hanger.

Mickey was already there. he had a cargo ship on hold as he pretended to go over the condense of the ship. Alerna and serif both jumped on board. Serif quickly found Mickey in the cargo hold. As soon as Mickey saw him he pulled a little transmitter from his belt. "Everything is clear. You are ok to launch." He said into the receiver. He then attached the device to his belt again.

"Where is Alerna?" he whispered.

"She's back by the doors where we came in." She ship suddenly lurched as it lifted off the ground. Serif and Mickey where both thrown to the floor.

"Come on! We need to get to her! It's only a mater of time before they find out what we did." Mickey said scrambling to his feet. They both started running back the way serif had come. Alerna was pressing herself against the wall of the ship trying to prevent herself from falling as the ship shook. Another huge lurch threw Alerna off balance. Serif caught her before she fell.

"What's your plan?" serif called over the roar of the ship. Suddenly, with a huge blast the ship shot forward. Serif and Mickey where all thrown against the wall, but Alerna missed and flew into the passage Mickey and serif had just come out of.

Acting as fast as he could serif rolled his body across the wall and shot an arm towards Alerna as she flew past. He grabbed her arm just before she was out of reach. The furs of catching her slammed his shoulder into the wall. He felt like his whole arm had been torn from its socket. Then just as quickly as the blast started, it stopped. The whole ship fell completely quiet. All three of them slammed into the ground. Serif quickly got to feet and ran to Alerna's side.

"Are you ok?" He said picking her up.

"No!" Alerna groaned. "But ill live. What about you?" She touched his left arm that he had used to catch her. Serif hissed in pain. "Oh god, is it broken?"

"I… no. I don't think so. But get my armor off of it." He sighed. He could not move his arm very well. Alerna quickly began undoing his armor. As soon as the chest plate was unfastened it was clear there was something wrong. Alerna tried to pull the chest plate off, but it was stuck.

"Oh god." Serif said in pain. He pointed frantically at the edge of the chest plate rite next to his arm. Alerna looked at it and gasped. The edge was curled in and had punctured the leather underneath. The sharp meddle was jammed into his shoulder.

"I… I don't know what to do!" Alerna said ringing her hands.

"Give me your glove." Serif grunted. Alerna quickly took off one of the leather gloves and handed it to him. He put it in his mouth, and then he griped the chest plate around the collar.

"What are you going to do?" Alerna said concerned. "Don't do it!" but serif took a deep breath ripped the chest plate off with all his strength. The edge of the armor was torn out of his arm and it began bleeding. Serif sighed heavily as he let the glove fall out of his mouth.

Alerna quickly unhooked the leather and peeled it over his shoulder. She stared horrified at his arm. The whole shoulder was turning purple rite before her eyes. He had probably torn several muscles. The brose slowly began spreading down his arm. Alerna grabbed his shoulder and pushed it back as hard as she could.

Serifs scream echoed through the ship. Mickey looked around worriedly. Someone was bound to hear that. They needed to move soon.

Alerna had just popped serifs shoulder back in place. She now studied the cut from the armor. Sighing with relief she sat back. The cut was not deep. It had only just broken the skin.

"Guys, we need to get moving." Mickey said.

"Hang on a second." She said. She placed her hand over the cut and began quickly muttering words under her breath. Her hand glowed white as the magic took effect. When she took her hand away the woodshed healed. Serifs shoulder was still purple and he could not use it very well, but he was not bleeding anymore. She pulled the leather back over his shoulder and refastened it.

"Come on." She said standing up and offering him her hand. He took it with his good arm and she pulled him to his feet. Then she reached down and grabbed both her back and serifs. She hung both of them on her back. Then she turned to Mickey.

"Ok, What's the other part of your plan?" she asked.

"Fallow me, ill tell you as we go." He said. They all began walking briskly towards the front of the ship. "The plan is to take a small escape ship from this ship and get to your home planet. These cargo ships always have extra. Now the cores for this ship will pass within one day of your world. So we will take the escape ship when we get close and get out of here hopefully before we are found."

"Whose there!" someone called from up ahead.

"Shit!" Alerna hissed under her breath. They all pressed themselves up against the wall of the passageway. Alerna began muttering under her breath holding onto serif and Mickey. A flashlight could be seen around the bend in the passageway coming closer. Just as someone turned the corner Alerna's spell took hold. All of them where completely invisible, but there was still a problem. The passage was narrow, and they could not hide anywhere. The man with the flashlight began walking towards them.

Serif looked around frantically for somewhere to go, but there was nowhere but back up the passage they had just come from. Making up his mind he gave Alerna a little pull and began quietly walking back up the passage. Walking as quickly as he dared they headed for an airlock. It was a doorway off the passage that had just enough room to stand out of the way.

They made the doorway just in time. Serif pulled Alerna into the reseed doorway and they pressed themselves against the door. The guard walked passed them just missing them by inches. Serif and Alerna both breathed a sigh of relief as the guard rounded the corner at the end of the passage.

Alerna took her hand of serif and he reappeared as well and Mickey. They where about to continue down the passage when serif froze. "Shit! The armor!" he said, and not a second after the man who had passed yelled down the passageway.

"I found some blood and armor! Someone is definitely here! Hay! What the-"but he never got any further. Serif had run back up the passage and slammed his fist into the mans stomach. The man crumpled in the middle of what he was saying. Not waiting a second to see if the man would get up he turned and ran back to Alerna and Mickey.

"Let's go now! Forget caution. Just move!"

They took off down the passage. They encountered no one else for a few minutes until they rounded a final corner and emerged into a larger room that held the escape shops. There was a man standing in the room just in front of one of the ships. He had a clipboard and he had been writing something but stopped as soon as serif and the others ran into the room.

"Who the hell are you?" the man said as he started to pull out a gun. Serif didn't even hesitate. As soon as he reached the man he grabbed the handle of the gun and jammed his thumb behind the trigger. Then he pulled the mans arm forward and clamped it in place under his right arm. With a twist he snapped the mans wrist forcing him to drop the gun. He then released the man who staggered back. Serif then spun around and landed a powerful kick in the center of the mans chest. The man went sliding across the room until he hit the far wall where he lay still.

"Come on." Serif said pointing to the ship the man had been in front of. The ship was not all that small. They all ran up the ramp and Alerna jumped into the pilot's seat. The inside was spacious. There was enough room for them to easily sit, with additional room for 6 other people. Serif collapsed into a seat behind Alerna. His shoulder was killing him, he had just done stuff he didn't know he was capable of, and now he had finally gotten them to where they needed alive.

Mickey hopped up next to Alerna and together they got the ship started. "I hate ships." Serif muttered as he ran his fingers over his face.

They got the ship started up finally. Mickey pressed a button and the whole ship suddenly dropped a few feet. Outside they should see something going on. Things where suddenly being sucked towards them. The man serif had knocked unconscious suddenly rose off the floor and shot towards them. His body was sucked under the ship.

All of the sudden they where out of the cargo ship and spinning in circles through space. "Boohoo. That button opened the hatch to let the ship out. We never depressurized the room." Mickey laughed.

"Never mind. Just get us to where we need to go" serif grunted. "Alerna, I need your help with this." Alerna was quickly at his side helping him pull off the leather. The brose now spread from his neck, down to half way down his back, and to his elbow.

"Oh hunny that looks terrible." She whispered.

"Never mind." Serif grunted in pain as he tried to move his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Alerna began unfastening the breastplate and then the leather. As soon as the leather was undone she began pealing it off her shoulders. Serif sighed seeing no damage to her shoulders. But Alerna kept pulling off the leather. Serif stiffened when he saw what was wrong with her. Large booze covered the right side of her ribcage. It ran from just under her breast to the bottom of the ribcage and around her back. The jolt from being stopped so abruptly pulled something in her side leaving that large brose.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Serif said.

Alerna just shrugged. "Its nothing compared to what happened to you." She said as she pulled a shirt on over her head. Serif laughed a little. Then he sat back and sighed. "At least it's over now."

They where in the ship the better part of 12 hours. It was not a small ship, but it was still only made for simple escape purposes. So it took longer than it usually would to get to where they where going.

When they finally arrived Alerna was leaning as close to the front windshield as possible. They where looking for a place to land, and Alerna was staring at her old house. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the house.

She spun around and grabbed serifs hands. "Your going to get to meat my family!" she said happily. She looked just as happy as when she had been told she was pregnant. "oh, I cant wait for them to meat you, and then I can tell them that we are having a baby!" Alerna spun around lost in her own little world.

Serif sighed. He stood in the middle of the ship with no shirt on because of all the weird packets they had found that they stuck to his shoulder. Wile searching the ship Alerna found these weird blue packets mixed in with the medical supplies. She found that when she shook them they got really cold, so taking advantage of this they had stuck them all over his shoulder to try and stop the sealing. So now he was to meat Alerna's family looking like a freak. "Damn it" he said as he reached up and ripped off one of the packets. He ripped off the rest that he could reach and pulled on a shirt. Then he stuck one of the packs back on his shoulder. He was happy with that. As long as he didn't show up looking very weird.

The ship touched down in a field next to the house. Alerna was ecstatic as the doors opened and she jumped out. "Serif! Come on!" She said excitedly. She ran as fast as she could to the front door of the house. Serif waited for the ramp to lower before limping his way down it.

"Serif! Come on!" she called from just in front of the front door. Then she turned and knocked. The door was open almost instantly by a man in a dirty blacksmith outfit. Alerna stared at the man confused. Wile Alerna and the man stared at each other in shock serif managed to walk up the hill to stand next to Alerna. The mans eyes rose from Alerna's face up to serifs. Serif was a good head taller than Alerna and the man.

The mans dumbfounded expression slid from serif back down to Alerna. Serif just watched the two of them.

"…jacks… is that you?" The man stiffened at the name. He straitened up and snapped out of his concentration. He began wiping his hands on a rag as he tried to make himself seem tougher.

"Maybe it is. Whose asking?" the man said looking down his nose at Alerna.

"It's me… Alerna. Don't you remember me?" the mans eyes grew wide just before the door was flung open and an old woman with gray hair pulled back into a bun pushed the man out of the way. The woman stared at Alerna's face for a moment before throwing her arms wide. "Welcome home!" the woman said.

"Mommy..." Alerna whispered before breaking down and throwing her self into the woman's arms. Serif watched her happily as she cried in her mother's arms. After a few moments the woman looked up at serif.

"And who are you supposed to be?" she said looking him up and down.

"Uh…" serif mumbled at a loss for words.

"Mom, this is my husband serif." Alerna said wiping her eyes.

"Husband? "The woman said. She sounded as shocked as serif felt. They had never gotten married.

"Yep!" Alerna said. "We have been married for 2 years now." The woman stared at serif. He had no idea what to say. Everything Alerna was saying was a lie. Well not completely a lie. It would all happen, but it had not yet happened.

"Well look at me keeping you all standing outside. Come in!" she stepped to the side and they all walked into the house.

When they where all inside, Alerna sat next to serif on the couch. Leaning over serif hissed "we never got married yet!"

"I know, but my mom would kill me if she knew that we had a baby without being married." Alerna whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "By the way, where is Mickey?"

"Has back with the ship. He didn't want to get involved just yet."

"Oh, I can't believe you finally came back! It's so good to see you again!" her mother said just looking at Alerna. "You have grown up so well! I never thought I would see you again! So what brings you back home all the sudden?"

Alerna looked at serif then back at her mother. "I need a place to stay." She looked down a little ashamed. "We got ourselves into a bit of trouble. And now we have no other place to go." Her mothers smile slowly faded.

"What happened?" her mother asked sternly.

"Well… wait, where is dad?" Alerna asked looking around. Her mother hung her head sadly.

"Dad died a few weeks after you left." ax said from the corner. He was sitting in a chair they had not seen before. It was half hidden in shadows. But after he spoke he scooted his chair closer so they could see him better. "it was that injury he got from what ever he had beam fighting. Do you remember the one?" Alerna nodded. "Well, dad was cut deeper than we thought. We bandaged him up as best we could, but he was bleeding on the inside. It only took a few weeks his health got worse and worse until he finally died."

Serif looked over to find Alerna hugging his arm tightly. Tears where running down her cheeks as she pressed up against his good shoulder. During the telling her mother had taken a seat also. She now held a handkerchief to her eyes.

"So after dad died, I took up the slack. I couldn't do much for quite a few years. Mom had to do a lot of it, but I helped. That was until I was nine and I started doing all the work. Vie been doing dads job for several years now."

Alerna stared at her brother. He looked so much older. He had a few scars on his face and neck from any number of things. He looked grown up. "You don't have anyone…?" Alerna trailed off, a little embarrassed to be asking such a thing.

"Any what? A wife? No. I never was able to get out much. But no need to worry. I am still young. I will find one some day." Jax leaned back and sighed. He seemed to be enjoying catching up with her. "But what about you? Mom asked what brought you back here, and you haled this nice man," he gestured at serif "all the way out here with you. What's the reason for it all?"

Alerna perked up now that she remembered why she was there. "Oh, that's rite! Mom, jacks, we are going to have a baby! Alerna's mom sprang up with surprising agility for an old woman. She was laughing as she hugged Alerna tightly.

"And I am to suppose that you are sure you are the father?" jacks asked pointing at serif.

Serif burst out laughing. "I'm parity sure. Took me 10 years to get her to kiss me, I'm sure it would be a lot harder for anyone else."

Jax smiled, happy with the answer. "Ok, so then you are having a baby, that's great. Why do you need to come here? Don't they have places to have the baby back where you where originally?"

"Well you see, that's the problem." Serif sighed. And so he began to tell the story from the beginning of yesterday. How they had gotten word that every member would be expected to fight, and how they escaped so they could have the baby safely. When he finished an oppressive silence filled the room. No one said anything.

"So… can we stay?" Alerna asked hopefully.

"Can you stay? Ecorse you can stay! What kind of mother would I be to throw my pregnant daughter out into the cold!" Alerna's face lit up. She turned and kissed serif, and then she turned and hugged her mother and then her brother.

They all began talking excitedly. Alerna began telling about her past and how she met serif, but serif saw no reason to stay. He stood up and excused himself. He left the little house and went back to the ship.

Mickey was sitting in the piglet's seat turning several knobs trying to get the picture on the main screen to come into focus. "What's up?" serif asked. Mickey jumped surprised as the sudden noise.

"Oh serif, its you. I was just going to come and get you. Something happened. The head of the guild wants to talk to you personally. He just made contact, but I lost his signal. I'm trying to get it back."

Serif sat down next to Mickey and flipped a few switches. Them he grabbed the controls Mickey had been trying to figure out and turned them a few times until the picture came into focus again.

"Ah, serif! There you are!" the commanding general said. "I'm glad I found you. That was quite a stunt you pulled yesterday."

Serif held up a hand forcing the general to be quiet. "general, things have come up. Alerna is pregnant, and we are getting married as soon as we can. We want out of the guild so we can raise a family in peace."

The general listened then sighed. "Look serif, I knew about Alerna's pregnancy. The doctors told me about it this morning when I found out what you two did. Look, I never would have made her fight. Now I know she is one of our best fighters, but a pregnant woman can not fight. Even I know that! But what I said before at the meeting is still true. We need every single knight we have. Namely you serif."

"I'm not going." Serif said flatly.

On screen the general repositioned himself in his chair. He leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk in front of him. He looked tired. "Look son… I know what you are thinking, and I know what your intentions are. But let me tell you, if we don't defeat the king of hearts, he will destroy the universe."

"I don't care."

"When I say the universe that means the tiny planet you are on rite now!" the general yelled. "Look, he will kill anyone and everyone. So for the good of your family I need your help."

"Even if you do loose, the king won't reach this place for at least hundreds of years."

"Hundreds?" the general laughed. "Try days! He is so powerful he can destroy a world in moments. Listen to me. He will kill anyone and everyone, including your unborn baby. Now listen to me and you listen well. I need your help. When this is over and we win, I will grant your wish. You and Alerna both will be out of the guild. Your future will be played for by the guild. You will be free to raise your family in peace. But that future won't come true unless you help me. If you don't, he will destroy everything and you will die along with Alerna."

Serif studied the controls as he thought hard about what he would do. Several minutes passed as he considered what all of this mint. Finally he stood up. "General, I can't answer you rite now. I need to talk this over with Alerna."

"I can respect that. Get back to me in 1 hour. I will be waiting." The general nodded, and the screen went black.

"Gosh serif, what are ya going to do?" Mickey asked.

Serif looked out the door at the sunny hills and fields of this new world. The breeze made the grass move like the waves of a lake. Serif sighed and turned away. "I don't know." He said quietly. Then he began descending the ramp.

Serif took Alerna aside as her mother and jacks began making supper. He explained everything to her and they discussed it all. Finally they came to a conclusion. Alerna returned to help her mom and brother and serif walked back to the ship. He sat back down in the chair and pushed a button. The general appeared in screen once again. He looked like he had not moved an inch.

"General. I accept your proposal under two conditions." Serif said.

"And what mite those are?"

"I want to be here when ever I am not needed."

"Done."

"And I want 2 more ships. Incase something happens to me, I want a way for Alerna to get off this planet, and the other is for Mickey incase he is called away as well."

The general pondered this for a moment. "Very well. But I want you back here today."

"Today? But we-"

"You have to be here to pick up those ships." the general said cutting him off. Serif agreed with this. "Good, then I will see you later today." The screen went black again. Serif steered at the screen for several minutes before sighing.

"Mickey, you stay here with Alerna." Serif said. He looked so worn out. "I'm going to take this back to the guild."

And that's what happened. Serif picked up the ships and brought them back. Then over the next several months he came and went. Each time he came back home Alerna was bigger than before. But no mater how many times he came back, he always had to leave again. They never defeated the king of hearts. Every battle that he was in, the king never showed up. Serif was in charge of a large portion of the army because he was the best fighter among them. But no matter how many battles he was in he never lost hope that they would find the king.

Each time he came back to Alerna he gave her the news of what was happening. She always gave him advice about something. Where to go or what to do. He confided everything in her and she in turn would always help him.

Finally a few days before Alerna was due, serif got a message. They had found where the king of hearts was. They needed everyone to go to that world and fight. The king had found kingdom hearts. If he gained the power from it he would destroy everything. The guild needed to stop him before it was too late.

Serif roared and smashed his fist through the screen. "DAMN IT!!! THIS IS TO CLOSE!!! NO MATER WHAT WE DO WE NEVER STOP HIM!!! NOW IT MAY BE TO LAIT!!!" He sighed and fell back into the chair. Then he leaned forward and put his face in his hands and just cried. There was nothing he could do. He was going to miss the baby's birth because of a decision he had made. Now he was bound to that decision and he could not back out.

Wiping his eyes he got to his feet. He had to go tell Alerna, but she already knew. As soon as serif opened the door to her room she knew.

"You have to go." She said looking at him. She was now very pregnant. She stayed confined to a bed in the house, and a medical officer from the guild watched over her. Serif had demanded that the officer come back with him so they he could deliver the baby.

"How did you know?" serif asked bewildered.

"Because of the way you walk. The sound of your boots on the floor. I can tell that you aren't happy. You know you have to go. This could be the last time. You may actually get him."

"It is supposed to be the last time. The king of hearts found kingdom hearts. If we don't stop him, then it will be the end for everything." He dropped to his knees next to the bed as he began talking faster. "Look, Alerna, I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you and the baby."

Alerna put a hand on his cheek. You know you have to go. Even if you miss the birth, you will still have an entire lifetime with me and the baby." She leaned over and kissed him. "Now go, if you get there and stop this as soon as possible, you may make it back in time."

Serif sighed. Then he took her hands in his. "I love you." He said squeezing them.

"Aw, I love you too." Alerna said. Then serif leaned over and kissed her once more. Finally he stood up and after taking one last look at Alerna, he left the room.

Serif managed to get to the fight in only a day. The guild was already heavily damaged. Serif landed the ship on a flat mountain top and jumped out. The land around him was covered in deep canyons and cliffs. Tall mountains rose up in front of him, but everything leveled off behind him. Just behind the ship everything seemed to come together and flatten out into a smooth empty level surface. The brown stone that made up all the mountains and skiffs turned to sand behind him in the empty valley. But it was not so empty rite now. Guild members and heartless swarmed all over the battle grounds.

Serif summoned his key blade and dove into the battle.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Later that day Alerna gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Her mother, brother, Mickey and the medical officer all stood around her as she held the baby. The baby moaned slightly and rolled over in Alerna's arms. She smiled at it. It was so beautiful. What little hair she had was a deep red just like hers and the eyes where also just as blue. Alerna looked at the child amazed. Her life was finally coming together. But if she wanted it to stay this way, she needed to do something.

"Can Me speek to mickey alone please?" she asked everyone. They all looked at each other confused, but nodded and left the room.

"What's on your mind?" Mickey asked stepping closer to her and the baby.

"Mickey, I need to go. I need to help serif. He needs my help." Alerna said desperately.

"What!?! But you just had a baby, you can't… besides, how do you know he needs your help?"

"Just call it a woman's intuition. I know he needs me."

"But still…you just can't go off and fight in a huge battle. … What about the baby?"

"I want you to take her. Take her to the guild. When I help serif defeat the king, we will come back for her. Until then, someone in the guild can look after her."

"But-"Mickey started to say.

"Mickey pleases. I'm going to do this. I am leaving the baby in your hands because I don't want my mother or brother to be bothered with it. They have cared for me for long enough. You are the only one who can get her to the guild. I'm asking you to please do this for me." The baby began crying. "shhhh" Alerna said quietly as she began rocking the baby in her arms.

Mickey searched for a way out, anything he could say to keep her from going, but there was nothing he could think of. Finally he hung his head. "Ill do it." he said resigning himself. When he looked up Alerna was looking at him with tears I'm her eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered.

The next day when she was able, she put on her armor for the first time in a long time. It was a lot tighter than before, but it still fit. She said her goodbyes to her family, before turning to Mickey.

Alerna held the baby in her arms as she looked at it. Finally she kissed its forehead and finally placed it in dickeys arms.

"When do you think you will be back?" Mickey whispered.

Alerna looked at the baby for a long moment as tears began slowly running down her cheeks. "I won't be back." she whispered. Then she managed to get her tears under control. "Listen to me Mickey, I didn't know before, but I know now… I'm not coming back. When I was given my keyblade, a voice told me a bunch of things. Everything it told me was vague and made no since until now. It said that though my life would be short, I will have achieved everything I desired. … And that time has come. I have a family and friends. I have a daughter and a husband. Everything I always hoped for in life has been given to me. Now it is time for it to end. I may die, but in the process I will make the worlds safe for my daughter." Slowly she knelt down and kissed the baby once more. "Her name is Kairi. Protect her, raise her, and love her." Then she stood and without another word turned and walked away. She boarded her ship leaving Mickey completely speechless.

With in moments she was gone. Mickey was still at a loss for words as he boarded his own ship with the baby. Slowly without thinking he set off for the guild.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Serif lay resting in a ditch. It was finally his turn for a break from the battle. The second group of solders had replaced the first wave. The first now rested deep behind there own lines. He had been fighting for 2 days strait. He had been relived last night, but he knew his resting period was almost up. He had not gotten much sleep. What dreams he had when he managed to fall asleep where of Alerna. He thought she was on her way here, but that made no sense.

The battle was not going well for any of them. Everyone seemed to be evenly matched. There was never any ground gained or lost. Heartless and guild knights where still battling everywhere. But every time a heartless was killed, a guild member died as well. There was never anything gained!

"Commander, are you ready to go?" a young brown haired man said running over and dropping to a knee next to him. Serif sighed as he sat up.

"As ready as I'm going to be" he said.

"Good, then they want you at the front lines. They think there is a way to break through the heartless line."

"What!?! Break through the line?" serif yelled jumping to his feet. "We can't brake through the line! What are they stupid! We are defending! The gateway to kingdom hearts is behind us! There is nothing behind them! If we break there lines they will just swarm around us and then everything will be lost! Where the hell are they!?!"

The solder pointed back towards the battle.

"Shit!" serif swore as he took off back into the battle.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Mickey arrived at the guild in good time. But what he found surprised him. The guild was empty. There was no one there. "Hello?" he called but all he heard back was an echo. Sighing he took off for the maternity ward. If there was no one here, he may as well get some cloths for kauri.

As soon as kauri was direst and fed he took her in search of a command room. He found it with out much difficulty. Every monitor in the command room showed different leaders of the guild. All of them where engaged in combat. The monitors where obviously keeping track of who was where so they the guild knew how strong there forces where. Mickey studied every monitor closely until he found him. Serif was yelling at a group of young knights who all looked shocked and bewildered. Mickey took a seat in one of the chairs prepared for a bloody battle.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Serif finished yelling at the knights. There hearts where in the right place, but they lacked the experience to know what to do. Serif griped his keyblade as he charged back into the battle. A heartless quickly attacked him. It looked almost human except that is was all black. In both hands it held a sword. Serif blocked an overhead attack and at the same time kicked the feet out from under the thing. It fell forwards rite onto serifs keyblade. The heartless exploded as he ran it through.

He quickly looked around for another opponent when something strange happened. Every single heartless in the desert stopped fighting. Serif stared around in bewilderment as every single black form stopped what it was going and stood still. All the guild members stared at the heartless not sure what to do.

"ATACK!" serif yelled at the top of his voice. There was a roar as every knight raised its keyblade and attacked. With in seconds every heartless was gone. A great cheer rose up from the desert as everyone celebrated.

"This isn't rite." serif mumbled to him. "It was too easy. For What's at stake here, that was far too easy." And then it hit him. "Has here!" He quickly jumped to the top of a tall cliff and looked over the battle field. Sure enough, there was something odd coming from the far end of the guild. Wile everyone was cheering and moving around, a small group of people on the far end was all still. The stillness suddenly spread over the rest of the guild like a wave.

Serif ran back to his ship and grabbed a pair of binoculars. Looking through them he focused them on the distant point. He gasped as he saw what he feared. The king of hearts stood on the outskirts of the guild. Everyone around him seemed too stunned to know what to do. Then as he watched, one of the guilds tried to attack. There was a flash of something black and the knight fell dead. The king did not move. In front of him stopped a black heartless. It looked like a knight. It had armor and a keyblade, but at the same time it was all black with a heart shaped hole in the center of its chest.

Serif put the binoculars away and looked at the scan before him. The knights they had should be enough to stop the king. But he doubted it. The king of hearts was far stronger than any of these knights. He sat down on the rock and sighed. He mite as well gets a little more sleep. The king was a problem, but it would take him a wile to reach him. "Sleep is a weapon. Never forget it." Alerna's words came back to him as he closed his eyes.

"Serif" someone said shaking him.

"What is it!?" he said jumping to his feet and looking around for trouble. Then he saw who had woken him. "ALERNA! What are you doing here!?!" he said furiously.

Suddenly she threw herself into his arms and kissed him. He resigned himself to it and kissed her back as he held her close. Finally when he pulled away he asked again. "What are you doing here?" he asked more gently.

She put her head on his shoulder as he held her. "I know you need me. I know that this is going to be the toughest fight we have ever faced. You need me more than you know."

"But what about the baby?"

"She's with Mickey."

"She? It's a girl!" Alerna nodded. Serif picked her up and spun her around laughing. "We have a baby girl!" he laughed. he hugged her again. "What's her name?"

"I named her Kairi." Serif seemed to ponder the name in his head. "Kairi… I like it. Oh I bet she's adorable!"

"She is." Kairi whispered.

Serif sighed as he overlooked the battle. The king was about half way through the guilds ranks, but something was wrong. There where no dead guild members anywhere. Infect the entire guild that where behind the king where fighting the rest of the guild. He looked down at Alerna in his arms. "You think you are ready for this?" he asked.

There where tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. She smiled. "I'm as ready as I have ever been." She leaned up to kiss him again. He kissed her as he held her close.

"Come on, sit down. We have some time before the king reaches us." Serif said looking out at the guild. They sat down and watched the king coming closer and closer. He was not fighting. He held a keyblade and would slice through anyone who got in his way. The heartless in front of him did all the work. But behind him he did not leave dead guild members. They seemed to rite up again and attack the guild instead. It was like he was converting them to his side.

Serif felt Alerna shiver next to him. He put an arm around her and held her close. They sat there as the king moved closer and closer. Finally serif squeezed Alerna's shoulder. "its time to get ready." He said getting to his feet.

"serif wait…" Alerna said grabing his leg. She got to her feet next to him and hugged him again. "before we go out there, kiss me again. kiss me as though it was the last time we will ever kiss."

"but why?" serif asked bewildered.

"incase it is." She said quietly. Serif looked at her as he thought about the truth of what she said. Then he scooper her up in his arms and kissed her as hard as he could. They kissed for several moments untill serif slowly pulled away. Alerna was breathing harder as she leaned back, her arms still wraped around his neck. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. "thankyou." She whispered smialing.

Then she was back on her feet. they both ran down the mountan, stoping at the base. they could see the king clearly now. He was so close. the kings eyes focused on them. the last 2 people left standing in the guild. the other guild members infront of them looked like they where about to start panicking but they stood there ground, and fell where they stood as the black heartless struck them down.

Finaly every guild member had fallen. The king never breaking stride walked strait for Alerna. There was a flash of black and the soung of mettle on mettle. Serif had blocked the heartlesses attack on Alerna. The thing stood with its keyblade still locked with serifs. The king glanced at the keyblades. He payed them no mind as his eyes settled back on Alerna.

The king was old and bald with a grey beard and red eyes. His face looked drawn tight as though the skin was pulled back regularly to make him look younger. He wore a black flowing robe with red designes traced all over it. his facial expression was nutril. He did not smile, or look angry. He just raised his keyblade and slashed at alernas head.

Apart from the crashing of mettle, there was a cry as serif steped on the heartless's arm. As the king had swong at Alerna, the heartless dove to try and slice her also. Serif steped on the creatures arm preventing it from making contact.

The king suddenly looked astonished as Alerna ramed her shoulder into his chest. he staggered back but quickly regained his footing. He now knew this woman was not going to die easily.

All the turned guild members behind him stood strait up and parted giving them a clear ground to fight in.

The king suddenly looked astonished as Alerna rammed her shoulder into his chest. He staggered back but quickly regained his footing. He now knew this woman was not going to die easily, and he relished a challenge.

All the turned guild members behind him stood strait up and parted giving them a clear ground to fight in. Alerna stared at the king astonished. He wanted to fight her. He held up his keyblade as he prepared for the fight.

The black knight jerked itself out from under Serifs foot. Serif knew what the knight was going to do. He was going to try and attack Alerna at all costs. So he had to protect her as best as he could.

The knight suddenly bolted, going for Alerna's back. Serif quickly dove forward and grabbed the knight's leg. The knight stopped and brought its keyblade down at his head. He blocked it and rolled to his feat swinging his keyblade up as he stood. The knight jumped out of the way as he cut through the air.

Alerna charged the king. She brought her keyblade around at his head. The king raised his keyblade above his head. Alerna saw sparks shoot from the keyblade. When he brought it down it met her keyblade and then with tremendous force slammed it into the ground. Alerna was jerked off balance as her keyblade was embedded in the hard earth. Still holding onto it she looked up into the king's face. He brought his free hand up and backhanded her across the face. The force of the blow sent her realign back ripping her keyblade out of the ground.

Alerna spit out some blood as she wiped her split lip. Then she grits her teeth and ran at the king again. Muttering words under her breath when she met the king's keyblade again, the blast knocked them both back. Alerna hat countered his spell with the same thing.

As she was pushed back she spun and slammed her key blade into the ground. A fisher opened up in front of her sending cracks across the ground as it opened. The king dove out of the way as the ground fell away under him. Diving to the side he sent a bolt of ice at Alerna. She smashed it with her keyblade as it hurtled at her. She went to attack the king again only to find her keyblade encased in ice.

"Son of a bitch." She mutters. Then muttering a spell the ice instantly melted. "Well let's see how you take to this." She clapped her hands together as she took a deep breath. The king attacked her. She deflected the attack as she started muttering as fast as she could. She blocked another attack and another as the king pushed her back. All tie wile she muttered a spell as fast as she could. When she was done she blocked another attack from the king. Then she hooked her keyblade into his and slammed it to the side. Then she pressed her free hand into the king chest. There was a blast as the king was thrown several yards away.

Alerna raced at the king as fast as she could. She did not have much time. The king tried to get to his feet, but was unable to. Alerna had placed a gravity binding spell on him. He was pressed flat against the ground as gravities power was tripled on his body.

Alerna brought her keyblade down at his head. There was a flash of black as the black knight blocked her. But before it could attack her Serif sliced into its side. It seemed to try out as it vanished. Alerna raised her keyblade again, but the king had shattered the spell. He lurched to his feet. Alerna swung at his head but he brought up a hand. Alerna's blade ran rite through his had as the point shot through the other side. The king smiled as he gripped her keyblade and with a blast blew it apart. Alerna reeled back astonished. Her keyblade had just been blown to peaces.

She tried to summon it again, but nothing happened. Looking around desperately she dove for one of the standing guild members. She placed her hand on his chest and his spine was instantly blown out his back. The body crumpled as Alerna took his keyblade. She spun just in time to block an overhead attack from the king.

The attack sent her plowing into the ranks of guild members. The guild did not move. They where all mindless zombies. So each one that Alerna hit was like a wall. Sharp edges from armor and key blades sliced through her armor. Cuts covered her body and face. Finally she slammed full into the chest of a large member that stopped her. But as she slammed into him, his armor sliced into her. This member had spikes on his armor. Alerna felt something cold digging into her left side.

"Oh no!" she said as she slowly tried to pull herself forward off the spike. Serif was instantly at her side. He grabbed her arm and pulled as fast as he could. Alerna cried out as the 2 inch spike was pulled out of her side. A wave of blood began flowing down her back. She fell into his arms as she hissed in pain. "Oh god!"

"Look at me!" Serif said holding her up. "You are going to be fine. It's not that deep. Keep fighting." Then before he could say another word the black knight brought its keyblade down on his back. He was thrown to the ground by the force of the attack. Alerna gasped, but realized he was fine. His armor had protected him. Alerna grabbed a key blade as the knight tried to attack him again. She blocked the attack and kicked the knight in the chest. She winced as she pulled on a torn muscle.

She quickly bent down and picked Serif up. "Honey, I don't think I can do this." She said wincing again. Suddenly something fell in her eye. She went to wipe it away only to pull her hand back and find it covered with blood.

Serif grabbed her arm and spun her around. "We have to! If we don't then Kairi will die!"

"Who is this Kairi you speak of?" a seductive voice said. Alerna and Serif both spun around to see the king walking towards them through the guild. "This Kairi is someone special to both of you…" he pointed a finger at Alerna and a red beam shot out and hit her in the middle of the forehead. Alerna cried out as her head snapped back. The beam engulfed her head as the king walked closet. "Kairi... Kairi is your… new daughter. Oh that is exciting."

"Get... the... fuck… out... of my HEAD!" Alerna yelled struggling to get out every word.

"And you two are married. Oh that's even better! You can watch each other die! How sweet is that!" the king began laughing as he absorbed information from Alerna. Serif roared and threw himself at the king. He brought his keyblade down on the king's hand. The beam stopped as the king attacked with his own keyblade.

Alerna fell to the ground gasping, but she was instantly on her feet. She was furious. That thing had just been inside her head. He knew everything personal to her. She was going to kill him.

Forgetting all about the pain she grabbed another key blade and attacked the king. She brought the keyblade around and towards his head. Serif dove out of the way as the king blocked her attack.

Not loosing her momentum she spun around and grabbed the key blade from another guild member as she continued forward. She brought that down at his head as well, but he also blocked it.

Serif got to his feet as a black flash attacked him. He brought up his keyblade but missed. The black knights keyblade slicing deep into his left arm. Gritting his teeth he pushed the pain out of his mind and attacked the black knight again.

The knight suddenly turned and ran at Alerna. He tried to stop it but he was to slow. "ALERNA! LOOK OUT!"

She jumped just in time to be missed by the knight. Serif was just behind her. He tackled the knight and together they rolled behind the king.

Alerna brought her full wait down on a kick to the king's face. But he grabbed her foot and threw her into another suit of armor. She felt a peace of something mettle bury itself in her shoulder.

This wasn't good. She was loosing too much blood. She was becoming clumsy. Serif was having the same problem. They where loosing. And not just loosing, they where being butchered alive.

Alerna staggered to her feet gasping. She held closed a fresh bleeding wound on her stomach. "Serif! This isn't going to work." She called. "Serif… I love you."

The king laughed. "Love is such a feeble emotion. You two are going to die for nothing!"

Serif was pinned to the ground behind the king with the heartless onto of him. Struggling, he managed to get his keyblade under the heartless. With a quick push he stabbed it in the leg. It vanished in a poof of smoke for the fifth time.

"I love you Alerna." He called, then acting fast he brought his keyblade around and tried to slice the kings legs. But the king was faster. He stepped on Serifs arm and then plunged his own keyblade into Serifs chest.

"NOOOO!!!" Alerna yelled as she saw in slow motion the keyblade punch through his armor and into his chest. She watched his eyes grow wide with the pain of it.

Alerna griped her keyblade and brought it around at the king's head. The king went to block it, but only tugged on his own keyblade. Serif was still alive, and he held onto it as hard as he could. The king looked back at Alerna just in time as she brought the keyblade slicing through the kings head. Blood, bone, and brains splattered the ground in front of him. Alerna quickly slammed her shoulder into his chest sending the body back several yards.

She threw herself next to Serif and picked up his head. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he looked up at her. He smiled at her as he took a last shuddering breath. Tears ran down Alerna's face as she held him close. "Serif…" she whispered, "I don't want you to go. I want to stay with you. Please stay with me a little longer." Then Serifs eyes shot open as a black vortex opened up behind Alerna and the black knight jumped out and stabbed her in the back. Alerna's eyes grew wide, but she did not cry out. Instead, a smile slowly spread across her face as she collapsed onto of Serif, and they died together.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Mickey sat speechless in the guild. A look of horror covered his face. Tears where streaming down his cheeks as he stared mortified at the bodies of Alerna and serf lying in the middle of the desert. Mickey sat there for hours having no idea what to do. He held Kairi in his arms, but he could think of nothing to do. The guild was gone, Alerna and Serif where gone… everything he had ever known was gone. Mickey began to cry, not knowing what else to do. He cried for a long time until he was out of tears. Then he sat in the chair still not knowing what to do. He looked at the screen that had Alerna and Serifs bodies on it.

"I can't leave them like this." He said finally. He could think of nothing better to do. The only thing that made sense to him now was that he needed to burry Serif and Alerna. So he loaded Kairi onto the ship, and took off. He arrived in the wasted desert some time later. After searching for hours he found there bodies. The horror of the full situation hit him as he saw the keyblade still sticking out of Alerna's back.

His whole body started shaking as he fell to his knees next to them. "Oh my friends, I'm so sorry." He moaned. Kairi started crying as he knelt there holding her before her dead parents. "shah shhh shhhh" he whispered trying to calm her down, but it didn't work. Then suddenly Alerna's body shook. A cold rattling sound filled the air as the whole body shook, then the arm extended out to him.

Mickey stared horrified at the outstretched hand, the baby's streaks filling the air. Slowly he held out his hand. Alerna's hand glowed and a warm sensation spread through Mickey's hand. When the light faded the arm fell limp again. Mickey staggered to his feet and ran around the body to see Alerna's face. he gasped and staggered back. Alerna's eyes where wide and staring. Blood had run from the corners of her eyes and mouth, but it had dried a long time ago. Mickey turned away. He could not look at them any more. Instead he looked down in his hand. In it was a clear white stone that looked like a snowflake. In the center was a deep red heart. Mickey stared at it amazed. He had no idea what the stone was, but he knew it was important. He put it in his pocket and prepared for the job ahead.

Over the next hour he dug there graves and buried them. when he moved Alerna's body he found another of the stones. When he had finally buried both of them he picked up Kairi and stood over the graves.

Alerna and Serif where dead. Along with them the king of hearts, and the entire guild of light. Even though they had saved the universe and thousands of lives, at the same time they lost the universes protectors. Slowly Mickey looked down at the baby in his arms. Serif and Alerna's child. Baby Kairi. Though both her parents where dead, they had made a future for there daughter.

Mickey sighed as he took the two stones out of his pocket and gave them to Kairi. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light and Mickey and Kairi where gone.

The contact with Kairi caused the stones to perform the last wish of her parents. There magic caused both Mickey and Kairi to jump ahead through time. It dropped Mickey and Kairi I'm a strange place in the future called hollow bastion.

Mickey knew he could not look after Kairi like a normal family could, so he immediately started looking for a home for Kairi. He found an old couple with no children who was willing to raise Kairi as their own.

Mickey left Kairi in the couples care, then took off to find the guild once again.

The End


End file.
